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The Curtain Rises on
7OMM
Festival Report 16th KRRR! 28 - 30 April 2023 |
Read more at
in70mm.com
The 70mm Newsletter
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Written by: Thomas
Hauerslev. Pictures by: Thomas Hauerslev, and 2nd unit Paul
Rayton & Orla Nielsen |
Date: 02.05.2023
Updated
27-07-2024 |
 Projection
crew: (L to R) Michal Jaso, Martin Bodešínský, Petra Pokorná, Ivan
Školuda, Radim Václavík posing for a group picture.
The 16th KRRR! 70mm festival in the Czech town of Krnov (Population
23.000) was held at the last weekend of April 2023. Following here is a
summary of the events with a few personal observations.
KRRR! began in 2007 and has grown in popularity since. This year was no
exception with more than 180 delegates. Mostly Czech guests but also more
than 30 guests from Canada, USA,
Germany, England, Slovak Republic and Denmark came together to enjoy the
wonder of 70mm on the big screen. For three days classic trade names
like
Ultra Panavision 70,
Todd-AO, Franscope, CinemaScope,
Cinema 180 once again graced the curved screen to the enjoyment of an
enthusiastic audience.
• Go to gallery: KRRR! 16th 70mm
Film Seminar Krnov 2023
• Go to 16th 70mm Film Seminar, KRRR!
The program was impressive: Friday began with a French thriller “La
Seconde Verité”, in Franscope and with Russian dialogue. It had been
blown up to
70mm for the Ukraine market in 1966. Next was
“Mutiny on the Bounty” in “Window of the World” Ultra
Panavision 70, and for the official opening,
“Airport” in a brand new “New Sight, New Sound, New
Screen” Todd-AO 70mm print from Universal. Saturday began with
“Camelot” 9:30 in the morning, followed by “The Longest Day”,
photographed in CinemaScope, and
blown up to 70mm in 1969. Saturday ended with chapter 3 in the
Godfather film series. Sunday morning and the final day started with 8x
OSCAR winner “Amadeus” in 70mm, followed by a “vintage” print of
“Blade Runner” with special effects done in 65mm. The day came to an
end with a 25th anniversary screening of
“Titanic”, photographed in Super 35, and presented in 70mm.
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More
in 70mm reading:
• Gallery: KRRR! 16th 70mm Film
Seminar Krnov 2023
• 16th 70mm Film Seminar, KRRR!
• Home of "7OMM Seminar" at Kino Mir 70, Krnov, Czech
Republic
7OMM Seminar Through the Years:
• Film Program
• Text and Image
About Todd-AO
• Počátky
Todd-AO
Internet
Kino Mir 70
Namesti Miru 14
794 01 Krnov
The Czech
Republic
Telephone: +420 554 615 050
• Festival Page
•
KRRR! Facebook
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 “… and there are simply too many notes. Just cut a
few and it'll be perfect.”
A diverse program and mix of different formats, and all presented in
70mm. “Bounty” was masked off in the 2,76:1 aspect ratio. The
screen did not get wider for this format, only a bit more “letterboxed”
with the top masking coming down.
Only few cinemas can do justice to this format today. By an odd
coincidence, “Bounty” was shown on the exact same date of the
real mutiny in 1789. The original English language release print – faded
of course – was beautiful to see. Very sharp across the entire frame,
and only little damage. Which is amazing, considering it is 60 years old.
Definitely a highlight of the weekend.
Another highlight for me was re-visiting
“Amadeus” in 70mm. I personally ran a 35mm print for 17
months when it came out in 1984, and still remember a lot of the
dialogue by heart “… and there are simply too many notes. Just cut a
few and it'll be perfect.” – priceless! The film is quite simply a
masterpiece in every aspect of filmmaking, and it was very moving to see
it again. This rare opportunity gave me tears in my eyes as the film
came to the end. The entire audience sat through the end titles in total
silence, and gave it a huge applause when the curtain closed. They don’t
make movies like this any longer, that is for sure.
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 Projecting "The
Longest Day" in 70mm.
Among many pleasant things about watching old 70mm films, is listening
to the audio. The dialogue is exceptionally well mixed. You can easily
hear every spoken word. Unlike today, were dialogue is often “drowned”
by effects and music. Christopher Nolan’s films are a good example where it is often
so ridiculously loud that dialogue becomes impossible to understand. At KRRR! we
were blessed with classical trained actors who were all able to speak
beautifully – even Professor Henry Higgins would have been pleased.
Saturday and Sunday also gave room to “alternative content” in the form
of lectures and a selection of odd-reels in 70mm. I gave a presentation
about non-conventional 70mm formats, like Pik-A-Movie, Cinerama 360, IMAX
Magic Carpet,
Showscan etc. The presentation was concluded by a Cinema 180 / Cine
2000 70mm short film “Colossus”. Following my presentation I gave
out authentic
Todd-AO Distortion Corrected ["rectified" they call them] 70mm frames from
"Oklahoma!". It was quite popular to get one of those, as
many lined up to get one or two. The clips were nearly 70 years old, and
in the final stages of life. Film history ending in a smell of vinegar.
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 Rare 70mm
clips are examined
Projectionist Ivan Školuda gave a highly interesting presentation about
all the work done behind the scenes preparing KRRR! As an example, it
was impossible to show “Camelot”, unless several missing reels
could be found with collectors in EU and North America, and shipped to
Krnov. A short part of the film was even shown as a DCP (from a BluRay).
To match the fading of the most part of them film, the digital section
was purposely faded too. The entire English 6-channel soundtrack was
also synched up with a digital track prepared for this show.
“Amadeus” was another case with an exceptionally worn out 70mm
print that required special attention to make the
presentation work. The Krnov 70mm print is one of two original 70mm
prints donated by Director Miloš Forman to the Czechoslovak Socialist
Republic in 1984/85. Both 70mm prints have survived, but have serious
damage from extensive runs. That was a challenge, however. Like “Camelot”,
the entire stereo
soundtrack was also played from a digital source – carefully matched up
with the print – including advancing the digital sound track seamlessly
where frames, and splices had made the film shorter. In both cases the
sound matched perfectly throughout. Ivan also explained how they
replaced the German dubbed 70mm soundtrack on
“Blade Runner” with an English digital soundtrack. Ivan’s
lecture concluded with a short tribute to
Pavel
Tomešek, founder of
KRRR! 70mm Seminar.
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 The
horrible decomposition on "Solomon and Sheba".
Sunday afternoon it was time to re-watch some odd reels of 70mm:
“Juggernaut” R1, a clip from “Oliver!", the chariot race from
“Ben-Hur” in
MGM Camera 65, once again in 2,76:1 aspect ratio, and finally an example of what happens when a film
“goes vinegar” and gradually decomposes, ultimately going totally
useless. Demonstrated with a clip from
“Solomon and Sheba” in the final stages of film life. It was
once called
“horizon-spanning” Super Technirama 70, but this reel spans no more.
It will shortly cease to exist. Projectionist Michael Jaso explained how
towards the end of the reel, several layers of film were virtually glued
together, which made the emulsion stick to the other side of the
filmstrip. A very abstract film effect on the screen.
The festival begins Friday afternoon, and ends Sunday evening, with
films from 9:30 in the morning until 22 in the evening. Those are long
days, and only the most hard core 70mm fans see everything. Official
opening is Friday evening with speeches and a group photo on stage for
those who want to join. Always a big success with almost the entire
audience in front of the curtains. All are encouraged to do the KRRR!
“70” hand sign as illustrated in the promotional material. In the
foyer a wide variety of KRRR! Merchandise is for sale. Glasses, mugs,
hats, socks, t-shirts, pens – you name it. A2 sized posters are also
given away. Posters displays and program can be seen all over town too.
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 KRRR!
guests in the Kino Mir 70 foyer
The A5 sized festival program brochure is handed out when you get your
accreditation (festival badge and ticket) when you arrive. Eye-catching
layout, and quotes from films are on display like “I have seen things
you people wouldn’t believe” [a classic line from "Blade Runner"] in striking letters. The Krnov ad
department is very good at this. The only shortcoming of the printed
program is the lack of some text in English. It would be lovely to have
English summaries of each title, and a great service to the guests from
abroad.
This year a special photo booklet was also released with the group pictures from each year. The booklet was dedicated to the memory of
Pavel Tomešek, who passed away in mid-2022.
In the foyer the friendly staff manages ticket sales, the wardrobe and
sweet shop all at very affordable prices. Food, beers and sweets are
available all through the weekend. This year even with the much sought
after credit card payment option.
Upstairs in the projecting department, a team of very dedicated
projectionists and technicians are busy from early in the morning
preparing films, reels, subtitles, sound, lights, introductions,
microphones, and what have you. Always buzzing around with something to
do. They all display an unprecedented level of enthusiasm to make the
shows run. This is the basic nature of “projectionism” – the very molecules
of how to do it. Their skills reach far beyond merely showing films.
Attendees can arrange to visit in projection to see the film, and machines running – and
getting a sniff of magnetic sound if you desire.
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 Two
sets of digital subtitles
Digitally subtitling all the films is a huge effort – some films even
have two sets of languages at the bottom of the screen. It is really
well done by the projection department.
70mm prints which have reached “end of life”, and are virtually
unplayable, suddenly come back to life at the Kino Mir 70. Replacing
entire damaged 6-track soundtracks might seem easy on paper, but is an
enormous task that begins by counting all frames on the print, followed
by a search for a suitable soundtrack, usually from 35mm mag sound,
DVD/BluRay or even YouTube. Then follows a complicated rebuild and
re-mix it into “mag sound EQ”, and then synchronizing everything. It is
an extraordinary effort for a “one-off” show, and they have several of
those during the weekend.
“Would it not be easier to run a nice new DCP?” – yes, but that
will not work for a 70mm weekend. A weekend in Krnov’s Kino Mir 70 is a
“close encounter” with faded films, and films in full color. Spectacular
main titles, overtures, curtains and so on. Each film is introduced in
Czech and translated into English “on the fly”, so you can listen
through a headset. It works, provided the headset has fully charged
batteries.
Personally I think an introduction should be no longer than it takes to
boil an egg. Max 10 minutes (and possibly shorter) with a few anecdotes
about the making of the film. Naturally in Czech language, and with a
summary in English rather than the headset solution.
Some intros have a tendency to be very long as the introducer(s) sometimes
seems to get carried away. The intro to “Amadeus” was 20 minutes,
and was basically a “waterfall” of non-interrupted talk. It was easy to
see it was too long, as the audience began looking at their phones. And
finally, a note to remember, a famous film producer once told me,
“Introducing a film indicates that something is wrong with the film.”
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 Ivan Školuda
running "Titanic"
One final little
observation is about the curtains. The projectionists are
very dedicated “not to show the screen” and bring the curtains in/out
very eagerly. I’d propose to introduce a more gentle procedure, and
wait a little bit [Presentation Procedure:
"2OO1: A Space Odyssey" +
"West Side Story"].
Make sure the curtains are out before the first image hit the screen.
Let the audience see logos, and the entire main title sequence,
Intermission title
card, and all
end titles. Those are part of the show for the seasoned 70mm enthusiast.
I understand in Hollywood film makers often insist seeing EVERTHING on
the screen. No main or end titles should be cut or shown on the curtains
etc.
The Kino Mir 70 has a new manager taking up duties following Pavels’s
passing in 2022. Eva Budirská comes from a background in the art gallery
world, but has moved to Krnov. Since 1. January 2023 she started
working in the cinema exhibition industry. Employed by the city, she
has some “big shoes” to fill following Pavel’s legacy. I am sure she
will put her own ideas to good use at the Mir.
Getting to Krnov is a bit of a challenge for us foreigners. Some drive
their own car, and some go by train like myself. In my case it’s a
flight to Vienna, and then by train to Krnov, via Ostrava-Svinov. It’s a
long day of travel but fairly manageable. There are not many hotels in
Krnov, so booking well in advance is advisable. A weekend in the company
of Richard Harris, Vanessa Redgrave, Dean Martin, Marlon Brando,
Jacqueline Bisset, Elizabeth Berridge, Helen Hayes, Tom Hulce, Diane
Keaton, John Wayne, Sean Young, Harrison Ford,
Gina Lollobrigida, F. Murray Abraham and
many more is great, and I highly recommend you think about a trip to Krnov in 2024.
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Festival Report 16th KRRR!
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KRRR! 2023 |
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